This website is not being maintained and will be discontinued in November 2017.For Runaway and Homeless Youth information, content can be used for informational purposes or you can contact the National Clearinghouse for Homeless Youth and Families at 301-828-1324.For Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention information, visit the Teen Pregnancy Exchange. For Family Violence Prevention and Services information, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.

This document presents the Minnesota Department of Education's violence prevention plan for schools and communities. The premises that form the foundation for this plan include: 1) preventing and promoting efforts that have a community focus; 2) having a long-term and lifelong commitment to those efforts; 3) understanding that social problems are inter-related, contribute to violence, and must be addressed comprehensively; 4) ensuring that consequences for violent behavior must be clear and consistently enforced; 5) understanding that strengthening cultural identity is critical to reducing the violence of racism; 6) acknowledging that child abuse and domestic violence have immediate and long- term emotional and social affects on individuals, families, and communities; and 7) all adults need to take responsibility to help young people. Rather than only concentrating on understanding and reducing the causes of violence, this document calls for focusing on what allows young people to gain the skills and confidence to reach their full potential.